


goodbye to a world

by gloomyecho



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Other, ill add more tags as this goes along, reality related shenanigans, super self indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-02-09 11:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12886497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloomyecho/pseuds/gloomyecho
Summary: "though it's the end of the world, don't blame yourself."When a mysterious being begins to plague Bea's life, their life begins to slowly turn chaotic. Add in trying to keep up a social life and getting closer to someone they thought was uninterested in them, and life just gets more draining.





	1. Chapter 1

_   Darkness. It wrapped around them, stretching on for miles, nothing in sight except for a slight shine on the surface they walked on. Yet, they could still see. They could see themself, as if there was a permanent spotlight stuck on just them. There was no noise, except for their faint footsteps echoing through the void. They stared at their feet, their mind numb. They did nothing but walk. Yet something almost forced their head to jolt up to look ahead of them.  _

 

_ A faint glow, and wind-like sounds filled their senses. In front of them was a figure, seemingly floating in place, her long hair flowing around her head. Her dull eyes felt like they stared into their soul, as if she was looking inside their mind. She bore an emotionless expression. Her mouth opened to say something, but only uttered a single word. _

 

_ “You.” _

  
  


  Bea woke up, taking a couple seconds to completely come to reality. Their dream was fresh in their mind, unlike other dreams they would have and instantly forget. They yawned, stretching out in their bed before lying on their back and staring at the ceiling. They thought about the dream, feeling something strange about it. They tended to have weird dreams, so why were they so focused on this-

 

“Rise and shine, pal! Zzt!” 

 

They jumped as their Rotom Dex flew in front of their face. They'd failed to hear it booting up, apparently. After getting over the initial scare, they smiled a little, sitting up. A small costumed head soon popped out from under the blanket, wriggling out and sitting up. Bea gently pet the mimikyu’s head, getting a pleased squeak in response.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” They said to Rotom as they forced themself out of bed, “time to get up… what time is it anyway?” 

 

“About 11:40 am!” Rotom stated, a clock appearing on its screen to show the time.

 

“Do I have anything to do today?” They said as they grabbed clothes to change into. The dex hummed before confirming they didn't have anything planned. They went to get ready in their bathroom, listening to their pokedex chatter to them about things they could do that day since they had no plans. They'd finished their island challenge quite a while ago, putting that out of the question. They had heard news from Kukui that there was a Pokemon League being built, but it probably wouldn't be finished for a while. It didn't interest them that much anyway. They stepped out of the bathroom as Rotom continued its seemingly endless babbling, bringing up their friends and pokemon hunting. They only listened, making small noises of acknowledgment as it hovered around them. Mimi, their mimikyu, shuffled along behind them as they dug through their bag. They pulled out their 5 other pokeballs, releasing each one of their pokemon and walking out into the living room.

 

  “Mornin’ mom.” They mumbled, going into the kitchen to grab the pokemon food and a plate to make everyone, including themself, breakfast. They poured the food into their pokemon’s individual bowls and gave them the signal to eat before fixing themself something. Rotom had gone silent, simply hovering around them as they focused on making things, knowing that them losing focus could result in them screwing up their routine or forgetting something. When Bea was done they  sat down to eat, and Rotom resumed its babbling.

 

“Rotom-”

 

“You could finally finish the pokedex,”

 

“ _ Rotom- _ ”

 

“Oh! Or you could go out and play with those sweet pikachus again in Pikachu Valley!”

 

“Rotom!” They stopped Rotom’s chatter in its tracks, hearing their mother laugh quietly from the couch. “I'm just gonna go meet up with my friends today. Some socializing wouldn't hurt. Now can you  _ please  _ stop giving me suggestions on what to do.” Their sentence was less of a question and more of a statement. Rotom nodded - well, to the best of its abilities - and stuck to simply hovering around the table as it waited for them to finish eating. 

 

  They said a quick goodbye to their mom as they headed out, immediately feeling the power of the heat beaming down on them. They sighed, adjusting their bag as they began walking. Just another typical, hot as hell day in Melemele. They listened as Rotom Dex gave them the information on where their friends said they'd meet up, and marked the location on its map. Bea began to make their way there, mostly lost in thought, put on auto-pilot, while occasionally absent-mindedly petting Mimi. They were thinking back to their dream, like they usually did when they had a dream that bothered them. But they couldn't pinpoint exactly  _ what _ bothered them about it. The figure? The void? The weird, single word she'd spoken to them? What did “you” even mean anyway? Who was the figure-

 

“Zzt!! What're you doing, kiddo? Destination’zzz back there!” Rotom exclaimed, hovering in front of their face. They blinked before looking at the map and then to where Rotom was “pointing”, before realizing it was right. 

 

“Oh.”

 

They swiveled around, speed walking back and entering the small shop they'd promised to meet their friends in. Once inside, they looked around, and spotted the group sitting together. One of the members, Ilima, spotted them as well and waved them over. Their group consisted of Ilima, Hau, Lillie, Mallow, and Lana at that moment. Not at all their entire group, but they didn't mind. Bea walked over, finding a seat and sitting down. As they began chatting, Bea eventually found themself unfocusing from the conversation, thinking about their dream again. They were eventually nudged by Lillie, who looked at them worriedly. 

 

“Are you okay? You look out of it…” She whispered, making sure not to bring much attention to them. They blinked a couple times before nodding, making an “mhm” noise in response. The two resumed their places in the conversation, making their time together as fun as possible. 

 

  Bea made their way back home as the sun had almost fully set, and once home, set out dinner for their pokemon while their mother made their own. As they ate, they listened to the TV drone on in the background. They conversed with their mom a bit as she too ate at the table with them, telling her about their day with Rotom butting in every once in awhile. After returning their other five pokemon to their pokeballs and telling their mom goodnight, they walked to their room with Mimi shuffling closely behind, squeaking happily. Getting ready for bed was quick and easy, and soon they flopped down onto their bed, feeling Mimi hop up there on her own. They rolled over onto their side, getting under the blankets and letting Mimi cuddle up to them, petting her and smiling. Rotom turned off the light as they'd forgotten to, and booted down for the night. Bea closed their eyes as they soon felt themself drifting off.

 

_ They woke up once more in darkness. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this is like my first multi-chapter fic in..... ages so like Go Easy On me  
> i'm still getting used to writing a continuous storyline so apologies if the first few chapters are a bit weird? im trying™  
> also if some chapters seem kinda short its probably because i write some of them on my phone so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bea goes to malie city for an errand and gets a haircut. chill exploration times follow.

“Aw man! I lost…”

 

__ Giggling, Bea stashed their prize money away in their bag, waving to their challenger before walking off. Mimi shuffled along happily beside them. Battling was still fun, even if they usually ended up overpowering their opponent easily, although they never really had a plan for battling, instead just going for whatever move was strongest and worked best, and using carefully placed Z-Moves for a nice touch. Grinning to themself, they continued walking on to the close Pokecenter to heal their pokemon quickly and grab a drink. They'd been walking for a while after all, and Rotom was always bugging them to take care of themself. Stepping in the Pokecenter, a sigh escaped them as the cool air inside relieved the heat they'd been dealing with. They walked up to the counter, returning Mimi to her pokeball for healing and smiling at Nurse Joy. The nurse smiled back, taking their pokeballs and placing them in the healing center. 

 

“Have a good day!” 

 

Bea walked over to the small cafe area in the corner of the center, ordering a lemonade and pulling themself up onto a stool to sit. The man behind the corner slid their drink to them, talking to them about the drink and giving them a sweet heart chocolate. While everyone in all the Pokecenters knew them and how they didn't talk much, they all still talked with them. It didn't bother them, it was actually quite nice. They weren't forced to converse most of the time, so it was mostly them listening to the other talk. 

 

  Bea finished gulping down the lemonade, giving the man a polite smile and waving before hopping up and exiting the building.

  
  


“Okay Rotom, where’re we going again?” They said, releasing Mimi from her pokeball and letting her climb into their bag.

 

“Zzt! Your mom asked you to go to Malie City to pick up a book from the library! I've marked the library on my map if you need help.” Nodding, Bea looked at the map, tapping gently on it to see how far they were. They huffed, looking at the ride pager in their bag before deciding against calling for a ride on Charizard. They mentally charted out a path to get to the city, and head off.

 

____

 

  Tossing the book from hand to hand, Bea left the library, turning to walk down the road. Maybe they'd stop at the clothing store to check out what they had, or go to the malasada shop. Maybe cut and color their hair again - it was getting a little too long for their tastes. Though, their train of thought stopped when they'd spotted someone familiar up ahead. They stopped momentarily, before swiftly turning and briskly walking down the street, away from said person.

 

“Woah woah wait up! I can only fly so fazzzt y’know!” 

  
  


  Bea placed their pokedollars on the counter, the stylist smiling at them and directing them to a chair. They were basically a regular at every salon in Alola, so their request was memorized easily by the stylists working there. 

 

“Your regular cut and color dear?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“Okay!”

 

Soon they were finished, and Bea stood up from the chair, touching their hair. “Thank you.”

 

“No problem, have a good day!”

 

Bea walked out of the shop with a grin, Rotom floating in front of them to snap a quick picture. Though they'd grown used to it suddenly taking pictures, they were still caught off guard. They smiled nonetheless at the photo when it popped up on screen. Though, they were confused when Rotom suddenly buzzed, almost surprised.

 

“What’zzz this?” It said, suddenly zooming in on the background of the picture. Standing on a far sidewalk was the person they'd seen just before - Gladion. He seemed to be looking towards them in the picture, but it was hard to see since the camera was mostly focused on Bea themself. They turned their head around, looking to where he'd appeared in the picture, only to see he was gone.  _ Must've already walked off. _ It didn't worry them too much, and when Rotom wondered if it made them uncomfortable to have the picture now, they denied, keeping it. They didn't very much mind Gladion - he was slightly intimidating to them, despite them having tried to get closer to him in the past. They hardly ever interacted with him after the first few times. Plus, he was part of Team Skull - while the group didn't exactly intimidate them, they didn't really enjoy interacting with any of them. They were loud, jarring, and overwhelming to be around. Not to mention they had tried to steal their pokemon in the past. Bea shrugged, beginning to walk again.

 

“Where to next, kiddo?” Rotom chirped.

 

“Tapu Village. I have a place I haven't been in a while that I'd like to see again while I’m here.”  

 

____

 

  Bea pushed aside a few leaves as they crawled through a small patch of brush and trees. Mimi, from inside their bag, squeaked excitedly. After pushing through, they came out inside a small space, similar to a room, though made up of trees and flowers, as well as other similar things. Bea smiled as they glanced around, sitting on a small chair-like rock. This place was their hideaway - at least, it used to be. Their visits to it became less frequent after a while, but they still enjoyed going there every once in a while to relax. They slipped off their bag and placed it on the ground, letting Mimi crawl out and look around. They reached into their bag, releasing their Primarina, Bubble, as well. Rotom hovered around, taking pictures of all the new flowers that had grown, as well as taking plenty of pictures of Bea with their two main pokemon. 

 

“Still a pretty nizzze place ya got here!”

 

Bea nodded, letting Mimi crawl up onto their lap, rubbing the cheek of her costume and smiling. Despite the weird events of the past two nights that had been bothering them, they were able to feel at peace here.

 

Oh yeah. They'd almost forgotten. Scratch that - they HAD forgotten, and accidentally reminded themself. Though, when they began to frown, Mimi nuzzled its costume head against their hand, and Bubble nosed its face under their other hand, looking for pets as well. Leaning back and just petting their pokemon, they soon pushed the thought of their dreams to the back of their mind once again, just soaking in the peacefulness of their hideaway. Listening to the chirping of Pikipek and wind gently blowing through the trees calmed them. They closed their eyes, leaning back. They were beginning to feel drowsy. They shifted slightly, yawning.

 

And soon, they were out cold.

 

____

 

“...id… c’m… wake up!”

 

Bea jolted awake, hissing as they felt a sore feeling in their neck. They blinked away sleep, squinting as they tried to assess their surroundings. They tried to sit up, but found they were weighed down by Bubble who had wrapped himself in a position to both be their pillow and rest his head on their side. They had Mimi cuddled to their chest as well. Rotom floated into view, looking relieved.

 

“You’ve been out for hourzzz pal! I wazzz worried there for a second! It'zzz already dark out, we should probably take a ride home using the ride pager.” 

 

Already dark out…?

 

Bea looked up, seeing indeed that there was no more sunlight peeking through the leaves of the trees above. Instead, it was replaced by twinkling starlight and moonlight, giving the space a gentle glow. They nudged Bubble, making him up and sitting up once he let them. They cradled the still sleeping mimikyu to their chest and stretched, grabbing their bag off of the ground and pushing the leaves of the entrance aside to leave. Bubble followed along behind them, as well as Rotom. They pulled out their ride pager, paging charizard, and getting a lift back home. 

 

  Giving a small thanks to the pokemon, they yawned and walked back inside, seeing their mom sitting on the couch.

 

“Sorry I'm home so late… Here's the book you asked for.”

 

They handed her the book and gave her a hug, grabbing some dinner for themself and eating up before they both headed to bed. Bea nearly instantly fell back asleep as they landed on their bed, having Bubble and Mimi still out and ready to cuddle with them, but when they drifted off and woke up in the same place they'd been in their past few dreams, their eyes flew open.

 

That night, they didn't sleep at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bea needs sleep.

  Bea sat at the table, head leaning against their hand as they held a pokebean above Mimi, who was placed on the table's surface. The mimikyu squeaked, jumping up, her costume head to gently bumping against the bean. Bea smiled, giving it to her, watching as she happily munched it down. They turned to Bubble, who'd been sitting on the floor next to them, and held out a blue pokebean. He turned to them, letting them gently balance it on his round nose. His head wobbled as he kept it up, making sure the bean wouldn't fall. Bea raised their hand slowly, signalling for him to stand up on his tail, and he did, slowly. They snapped, and he tossed it off his nose, catching it in his mouth. Bea clapped as he bowed, returning to his previous position on the ground. Rotom snapped a few pictures of the trick, saving them to its memory.

 

“Good job!” Although their voice reflected their tired state, they still filled their praise for their pokemon with as much energy as they could. They proceeded to pat Bubble on the head and feed a bean to Vivi, their Sylveon, who sat on their other side.

 

They yawned, tossing a couple pokebeans in the air for Marble, their Togetic, and Peach, their Ribombee, and rubbed their eyes.

 

“Why don't you take a nap or something? You look and sound awfully tired.”

 

“I'm good, mom.” They muttered, folding their arms on the table and laying their head down on them. They felt one of Mimi’s claws gently poke their head, but ignored it, their eyelids feeling heavy. As they started to drift off, suddenly the front door opened up, a familiar voice entering their ears and making them jump awake.

 

“Bea! Just who I was lookin’ for!” Professor Kukui exclaimed as he let himself in. He'd become accustomed to simply walking into their house at this point, and Bea and their mom had gotten used to it to the point it didn't really bother them. But this time, Bea nearly fell out of their chair, almost smacking Rotom out of the air. Their heart pounded wildly from surprise, but they relaxed after a couple moments.

 

“O-oh, hello Professor Kukui,” They replied, their quiet voice a stark contrast to his, “what's up…?” 

 

“I wanted to ask you to swing by the lab in a few, yeah, ‘cause I wanted to do some checkups on you and your Rotom Pokedex.” 

 

Bea nodded, planning to go over there in just a bit when they were ready. They waved goodbye as he walked out before pulling their hands down their face. They let their pokemon stay out of their pokeballs for the moment as they went to get their bag from their room, slinging it over their shoulder. When they came back out, they stretched, and one by one put all of their pokemon - save for Mimi - back into their pokeballs. They picked up Mimi and gently placed her in their bag, giving a goodbye to their mom and making sure Rotom was following them before stepping out of the house, hopping over all the stairs and holding their arms out to balance as they landed. They were trying to keep their acts full of energy to keep themself awake even though they felt incredibly aware of how heavy their body felt at the moment. They started their pretty short walk to the lab, focusing at the ground below them as they walked.

 

  They approached the door and knocked, yawning into their hand as they waited for an answer. A short moment later, the professor opened the door with a grin, letting them in. After walking in they knelt down to gently pet Rockruff as usual. 

 

“So what’s up? Sudden Dex upgrade or something?”

 

“Nope! Just thought it'd be a good idea to check up and make sure your Pokedex is still functioning well.”

 

“Of courzzze I am! Better than ever!”

 

Bea snorted, standing up. “Yeah, it's been doing pretty well as usual.” They responded, fidgeting with their bag strap. 

 

“Well how about you?”

 

“Hm…? Am I… functioning well?” They raised an eyebrow, confused at his question. If that  _ was  _ the question, the answer would definitely be no.

 

“Ah, I didn't mean- Well, I meant, how have you been? You've been training, yeah?” Bea nodded, wondering if the goal of this entire meeting was to just talk to them about how they were doing. “You've gotten pretty strong since your island challenge, have you thought again about challenging the league once it's finished? It should be done soon.” Kukui began tending to various things, like adding food to pokemon bowls.

 

“Eh, like I said, maybe somewhere down the line.” They replied, feeling somewhat awkward. 

 

“Cool! I'd love to see what you have to offer at that point, oh yeah.” 

  
  
  


Their conversation went on, eventually getting more comfortable for Bea. It shortly came time for them to leave, and they exited the beach house, Rotom following them as per usual. It had a slight bit of a cleanup, cleaning it and making sure everything was in order. As Bea walked down the path back to their house, they twisted their Z-bracelet around on their wrist, lost in thought. Or maybe they were just spaced out due to lack of sleep, since they couldn't really even remember what they were thinking about. They just knew they were walking home and that Rotom was babbling about how refreshed it felt. 

 

  They tuned most of it out, almost feeling like a radio that was just tuned to static. They even felt as if static itself was running through them, prickling on their skin like tiny needles. Their hearing became muffled, Rotom’s words turning into a simple buzzing noise. The world around them seemed to darken. They blinked, looking up, seeing the void from their dreams. Momentary panic filled them, and anxiety exploded in their chest when the figure suddenly appeared in front of them. They stared at her, frozen. Their eyes were wide, staring into her dull ones. There was a slight hint of malice behind her stare. It sent a wave of fear through their body, a feeling similar to their panic attacks. That's when the buzzing in their ears started to become more clear, a familiar voice breaking through to them.

 

“...a? Be…? Bea?”

 

Bea blinked, noticing they had walked straight past their house and stopped at the beginning of route 1. They took a few deep breaths, silently turning around to walk back towards their house. But, when they had just turned around to start walking, they heard Lillie’s voice from behind them.

 

“Bea! Help!”

 

Turning back around, Lillie stopped in front of them, a worried look on her face.

 

“It's Team Skull!”


	4. Chapter 4

  Bea stood, two Team Skull grunts standing just in front of them. Rotom floated behind, next to Lillie, looking slightly worried - not about the grunts, but for Bea.

 

“It’s you, huh? Well, we won’t let you beat us this time, yo!”

 

“How many of you guys do I have to fight before you numbskulls learn a lesson…?” They muttered under their breath, letting Mimi jump out of their bag as well as letting Bubble out of his ball. The grunts sent out their own pokemon, and Bea heard Lillie shout encouragingly from behind them. 

 

“Bubble, use Hydro Pump,” Bea pointed to the male grunt’s Salandit, watching as Bubble’s attack fainted it. The grunt looked surprised, pulling the pokemon back into its pokeball. The female grunt huffed.

 

“Raticate, use Toxic!”   
  


“Mimi, use Play Rough.”

 

Mimi attacked the opposing Raticate, bringing it down quickly. The female grunt quickly pulled the Raticate into its ball and looked at the other grunt. They both looked back to Bea, who was yawning. 

 

“Th-that was crazy, yo!”   
  
“Hmph! This w-won’t be the last time you see us!” 

 

_ ‘Of course it won’t…’ _ Bea thought to themself, pulling Bubble back into his ball and watching as the grunts ran away, defeated. Lillie came up behind them, smiling. They couldn’t help but smile back, bending down to pick up Mimi as she came shuffling back to them. They gave her a gentle affectionate kiss on her costume ear as they walked to the pokecenter. Despite their pokemon not being injured, they still liked to keep them feeling refreshed. They felt a little more awake now; although the fight was short, it still gave them a little energy boost. 

 

  As they got their pokemon back, Lillie tapped them on the shoulder gently.

 

“Wanna get something to drink?” She asked, pointing over to the corner of the center. Bea nodded, and they walked over. Lillie ordered for the both of them, Bea letting her do so. They found a seat and Bea released Mimi, letting her sit by their feet as they took a sip from their drink. Rotom gently hovered over Bea’s shoulder. Lillie, after taking a sip of her own drink, looked up at Bea.

 

“Did you get enough sleep?” 

 

Bea’s head lifted up in surprise, not really expecting a question like that. “You’re always so worried about my well being Lillie,” They laughed, “It’s sweet.”

 

Lillie’s face turned more concerned. “I’m serious!” She pouted, “You need to take care of yourself. Is something bothering you?”

 

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. I’ll go home and take a nap later or something…”

 

“I know you’re not going to take a nap unless you pass out on accident.”

 

Bea huffed. She was spot on. They didn’t really wanna go to sleep at all out of fear of waking up in that  _ place _ again, though after that incident near their house it didn’t seem to just be limited to their dreams. Yet, they had slept in their hideaway without having the dream, so maybe they could do that again? 

 

Sighing, they took another sip of their drink. “I just had trouble sleeping last night. Nightmares, y’know?”

 

Lillie nodded, taking a sip of her drink as well, a sympathetic look on her face. The two continued to drink, occasionally bringing up other topics, though it was mostly comfortable silence. Rotom even took a couple pictures of the pair. Eventually, their drinks were finished, and they got up to leave. 

 

  Waving bye to Lillie, they went their separate ways - Lillie going back to the Professor’s lab and Bea going back to their house. They made it fine this time, and went straight to their room after greeting their mom. When they got into their room, they dropped their bag and flopped onto their back on their bed. Mimi crawled out of the bag, shuffling over to their side without getting up with them. They stared at the ceiling, trying to internally fight off the feeling of wanting to just sleep. Rotom came into their view, its face displaying a concerned look. 

 

“Zzt, what happened earlier?” Bea knew what it was talking about, but chose not to answer. Just thinking about it made anxiety boil inside of them. Rotom frowned more in response, “Can you at least get some rest? You don’t look so good, zzzzt.” Bea sighed, sitting up, their hands digging into the pastel fabric of their messy blankets. They got up out of their bed, making Rotom buzz loudly.

 

“I said rest! Not get up!! Zztzzt!!!” The dex exclaimed, hovering around as Bea picked up their bag. Mimi squeaked at them, following close behind as they left the room once more. They paused to pick her up and place her in their bag before continuing to walk. Rotom floated after them as well, its concerned look returning. Soon, Bea was out of the house again, a worried pokedex floating behind them.

  
  


____

 

  A small sigh exited Bea as they trudged down Route 8. They’d been walking around Akala Island as well as the other islands for hours, stopping only at pokecenters to rest. They’d been out all night, trying to keep themself occupied by battling trainers and wild pokemon. They rubbed their eye with their palm, groaning. Maybe this was all overreaction? Maybe they wouldn’t have the dream again. It could just be a recurring dream that’d go away eventually, right? 

 

Except the anxiety and panic caused by the dream made them fear waking up in that void again. They’d only had the dream a few times now but even thinking about it made them tense. 

 

Yet, they still felt their tired brain win out, telling them sleep was the best option. 

 

  They gently moved their hand past Mimi as they dug into their bag, making Rotom look at them, confused. They pulled out a ride pager, but as they went to press the button for Charizard, they heard someone speak up behind them.

 

“Hpmh. I see you’ve gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met.”

 

Bea’s confused and tired mind couldn’t place the voice, so they turned around.

 

Gladion stared back at them. “Battle me. I won’t take no for an answer.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more plot stuff happens. things are getting strange (stranger things theme plays distantly)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY finished this dang chapter i was stuck on it for so long lmao. enjoy

  “Y-You… what?”

 

Bea’s small mutter was ignored as Gladion swiftly sent out his first pokemon. Bea jumped, stuffing their ride pager into their bag and scrambling to send Mimi into battle.

 

____

 

  The battle was over shortly, with Bea coming out victorious despite their overtired mind.

 

“How annoying…” Gladion said to himself, pulling his Silvally back into its pokeball. Bea let Mimi back into their bag before fiddling with the strap, clearing their throat.

 

“You, um, you've gotten stronger too.”

 

“What?”

 

“You said I've gotten stronger before you challenged me. I-I was just saying you're stronger too.”

 

Gladion paused.

 

“Hmph. Not strong enough.”

 

_What the hell did that mean?_

 

Bea simply gave a confused look, before blinking and trying to continue conversation.

 

“Ah… um, okay. I just wanted you to know you're really skilled. You're really good at this, and I can tell you've bonded well with your pokemon.”

 

_Why did they feel compelled to continue complimenting him?_

 

Gladion looked slightly shocked, before almost immediately reverting back to his more uncaring expression. Bea couldn't think of anything else to do or say, yet they couldn't force themself to leave. Something inside them also wanted them to stay, almost wanting his company.

 

After a few moments of mental arguing, Gladion closed his eyes and huffed.

 

“I'm going to go get my pokemon healed. I'll see you again.”

 

And with that, he walked off, leaving Bea standing there. They sighed, feeling stress escape them. Mimi squeaked from their bag, and they pet her on the head.

 

“That was amazing kiddo!”

 

Bea let out a small scream, startled by the pokedex that had suddenly hovered in front of them. Taking a deep breath, they looked around, embarrassed. They turned back to the ‘dex.

 

“You're gonna give me a heart attack someday, Rotom.” They shook their head with a small smile, “But thank you.”

 

“Zzt, sorry! You should probably go ahead and heal your pokemon and then get some rest, huh?”

 

Bea looked to the ground, their eyes burning from being without sleep. They nodded, remembering their goal they had decided before Gladion had challenged them.

 

“Alright, alright, I'll go sleep.” They muttered, adjusting their bag strap and taking out their ride pager again. They paged Charizard to ride to the nearest pokecenter to heal before having it drop them off in Hau’oli city, fully intending on walking the rest of the way home as slowly as possible.

 

  They stopped by Hau’oli beach, listening to the waves and staring into the horizon. Rotom knew that trying to force them to get home faster was practically useless at this point, so it simply rambled to them as they listened and nodded. A few minutes passed, and they began to grow bored. They sighed, turning their face down to the sand just as a Pyukumuku washed ashore. Smiling softly, they bent down and gently scooped it up.

 

“Here we go little guy… and-”

 

They chucked it far into the ocean with a small grunt, watching the splash. Their hands on their hips, they smiled proudly.

  


  They gazed at the ocean for just a few more seconds, before starting to turn around. Though something immediately stopped them in their tracks - a small tearing sound, and the view of the ocean beside them becoming slightly warped. They immediately turned back to face it, squinting slightly and blinking to make sure what they were seeing wasn't their vision messing up. Bea slowly raised their hand up, squinting to see a small, almost unnoticeable rip in the space in front of them, as if it was simply a backdrop or a wallpaper instead of reality. Hesitantly, they reached out and gently slid their index finger across the rip, only to yank their hand back as pain suddenly shot up their arm. They looked down at their finger to see there was a small bead of blood beginning to form. They looked back up to see that the strange rip they had seen had suddenly disappeared, the view of the bright blue horizon now back to normal. They felt confusion run through them, as well as a hint of fear, and they decided it was a good time to get back home already.

 

  Turning around fully, they began to walk back, reaching the street. They held their bleeding finger in their hand.

 

“Bea, bud, are you okay? How did that happen?”

 

They ignored their ‘Dex’s question simply due to the fact that _they didn't know_. This situation was already scary and strange, but it was getting overwhelming for them.

 

  As they walked through the door, they immediately called out for their mom, asking where the band-aids were.

 

“In the bathroom cabinet, sweetheart. Did something happen?”

 

“Cut my finger.”

 

Their mom gave a small “aw” in return.

 

Bea immediately walked to the bathroom, opening up the mirror cabinet to grab the tiny box of brightly colored band-aids. After making sure their wound was clean and securely wrapping it in a bandaid, they bent their finger with a smile. They then looked into the mirror at themself, noticing how they looked.

 

Their hair was slightly messy, and their eyes looked sore. They looked disheveled and worn out, especially after being in the Alolan heat overnight. They stuck out their tongue at their reflection, deciding it was probably a good idea to shower. It could help them sleep better, maybe they'd get some dreamless sleep, or even better, a good dream. They turned the shower on and got out their pajamas, placing their bag and other items outside of the bathroom door.

  


  After showering, the feeling of drowsiness intensified. They got into pajamas and ate an early dinner, getting ready for bed. They gave a small goodnight to their mom before heading into their room, holding Mimi in their arms as Rotom floated close behind.

 

Climbing into bed felt amazing - the warm sheets enveloping them made them feel as if they were sinking into the mattress.

 

“Zzt, you want me to power down?”

 

“Yep,” they said, yawning, their eyes already closed, “lights off as well, please.”

 

“Alrighty, partner!”

 

The lights turned off and Bea could hear Rotom power down. Mimi laid down close to their body, and Bea pulled their blankets up all the way to their chin. Their breathing slowed into a soft pattern, and they felt their consciousness slowly slipping away as they finally allowed sleep to embrace them.

 

___

 

_They were walking near a strange place, somewhere familiar to them. Their surroundings were fuzzy, not completely recognizable, so they couldn't place where exactly they were. They heard a voice, and felt their mouth moving. But it was as if they were both watching a movie, and at the same time, controlling themself. They could see themself, walking, but they could feel everything they did. They could hear someone else's voice, see someone else next to them, but they couldn't place who it was. The voice sounded so familiar. The person looked familiar. But who was this person?_

 

_Then, something strangely familiar happened. They heard a small tear, and it looked as if reality in front of them had distorted and torn open slightly, as if it were simply a backdrop in a play and not reality at all. Bea stopped right in front of it and reached forward, hesitantly brushing their knuckles gently across the tear. They heard a shout from behind them, from their unrecognized companion, and everything went dark._

 

_They woke up in darkness. The silence was deafening. They looked around frantically, before taking off in a sprint. The dark “ground” underneath them seemed to act like water, splashing up, yet never getting them wet, nor making a sound. The only sound was once again their footsteps, yet it sounded as if they were simply running on regular ground instead of a watery surface._

 

_They ran, and ran. Until suddenly they stopped. They felt no fatigue from running. They felt as if they had just been standing perfectly still the entire time. And then, noise filled the silence. It felt as if it surrounded them, wrapping around their entire body, just the noise of harsh wind and a faint buzzing._

 

_Feeling an urge, they turned around, only to come face to face with the strange girl from before. In mere seconds, she had lifted Bea’s hand, holding it in a crushing, burning grip. Her eyes were wide, her mouth still in an emotionless line, and no other signs of emotion present. And quickly, they began to hear whispers in her voice, without ever seeing her mouth move. They sounded unintelligible, until one broke through, clearer than the others._

 

_“You are the one.”_

 

___

 

  Pain was the first thing that Bea’s mind registered when they woke up. Their entire body felt as if it was burning, and they shot up out of bed with a strangled cry. Hearing this, Rotom booted up immediately, nearly falling off the desk it had been sitting on. The sudden burning pain immediately ceased, and the pain was centered in their injured hand. They threw their blankets off of them and off of the bed itself, before cradling their hand in their other hand. They braced themself for a quick second before glancing at the hand that was in pain.

 

Their hand was covered in what looked like bruises, dark purple in color. They took off the bandaid and original place of their earlier injury on their index finger now had an unnatural looking ring around it, yet no cut or visible injury there. There was a distinctly darker spot along their knuckles as well. Despite their hand looking bruised, the pain didn't feel that way - it felt hot, and cold at the same time, stinging and stabbing and aching, all at once. It felt as if their bones had been broken five times over and their skin set on fire.

 

They had completely focused on examining their bruised hand that they'd tuned out the entire world around them. Rotom was floating around their head, and Mimi had been pawing desperately at their thigh, yet the two got no response at all.

 

“Kiddo, are you okay?! Are you hurt?! You're crying! Answer me!”

 

They didn't respond and instead stumbled out of bed, desperately rushing to the bathroom, nearly tripping on their blankets on the floor. Bea stopped at the sink, turning on the coldest water and pushing their hand underneath it. The cold felt both soothing and painful, but they soon felt themself coming back to reality. The cries of their pokedex became clearer, and they could register the feeling of Mimi bumping against their foot. They took steady breaths, turning off the water and closing their eyes. They could feel tears running down their face, despite not feeling like they'd been crying.

 

“Are you alright? Kiddo? Pal? Bea?”

 

Rotom hovered beside them, and they took a deep breath before speaking.

 

“I don't know.”

 

They looked into the mirror slowly, registering their facial features and the glossiness left behind by their tears. They then slowly turned their head back to their hand, seeing it still in the state it was before. Yet, it didn't hurt like it did just a few moments ago. Or was it hours? They couldn't tell at all. The pain had dulled to a throbbing, stinging pain, as if they'd simply closed their hand in a heavy door or something. They lifted it out of the sink, gently pressing the fingers of their good hand into one of the bruises. A sharp pain flew up their arm and they recoiled, reminding themself not to do that again.

 

“What happened?”

 

“I don't… know.”

 

Everything was a blur to them. They could _remember_ their dream, but not in a full sense. They could remember it like you would a normal dream after just waking up.

“That looks like a nasty injury, you've gotta tell your mom, zzt!”

 

“N-No, I,” They began, struggling to find a way of avoiding having to tell their mom about this. Despite its severity, they didn't want to worry her… But that was just their anxiety and stupid brain speaking. This was serious. What if they needed medical attention? But what if the doctor wouldn't be able to figure out what was wrong?

 

After an internal battle, they simply shook their head. They refused to go through all that trouble. Maybe if things got worse, or it happened again, they'd tell her. Yeah. That'd work.

 

“But, Bea-!”

 

  They opened a cabinet with their good hand, finding bandages and other supplies they could use for now. After tending to their wounds as best they could, they wrapped their entire hand in bandages, holding it up in front of their face afterward. They carefully bent their fingers, feeling pain still, but not as bad as before. With a weak, satisfied smile, they walked out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. They set up an ice pack for themself, and gently held it against their wrapped hand. They then walked back to the bathroom to put everything away, and headed back to their room.

 

  Bea glanced at the clock on their desk.

 

_6:56 am_

 

This was way earlier than when they usually woke up, yet they didn't feel tired at all. They couldn't anymore, really. Bea leaned against their door and thought for a moment, before sighing.

 

  A few minutes of getting ready later, they slipped their bag onto the shoulder. They walked out of their room, flicking the light off and walking into the living room that had been lit by the early morning sun that filtered through the windows. They walked over to the dining room table, placing a small, cute piece of paper down with a note written on it.

 

_Dear mom,_

_By the time you're awake and reading this, I'll be out. I'll be somewhere around Alola, and I'll be out for a while. Not sure how long. You have my number, so text or call me if you need me._

 

_Love you,_

_Bea_

 

After setting it down and making careful last minute preparations, Bea took one more look behind them with their hand on the doorknob.

 

With a sigh, they left the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter than usual, but i got motivation and wanted to write for this so eh what can you do !

   Day 1.

 

Mere hours ago Bea had woken up from their worst dream so far, and afterwards, left their house.

 

They'd so far passed by Hau who they'd talked to for a bit, and stopped by the mall to admire the clothes they couldn't yet afford.

 

They stopped to buy some malasadas for their pokemon, and ended up going to the first restaurant they found for lunch.

 

They did small favors for people across the islands as a time waster, and battled various trainers and pokemon for experience.

 

When night fell, they went out into the ocean on a Lapras and rode around in the water, watching all the underwater pokemon.

 

   Day 2.

 

They ran into more Team Skull grunts, beating them with ease. Bea wondered if they'd ever personally encounter the team’s leader himself, but in their current state they didn't really care.

 

They got lunch with Lillie, who talked about the pokemon she'd been taking care of and protecting.

 

They began to grow tired in the middle of the day, but ignored it.

 

When night fell, they laid and watched the stars.

 

   By day 5, they were already out of ideas on passing time. Their hand still hurt, so they couldn't do much involving it except throwing a pokeball, which they didn't even do with that hand anyway.

 

   And by day 10, they had lost all stamina. They decided a nap couldn't hurt, and decided to go to their hideaway - the only place so far that they hadn't had any of those nightmares in.

 

Crawling inside, the released all of their pokemon and settled down, setting an alarm for 2 hours.

 

“That should be enough,” Bea was cut off by their own yawn, “right?”

 

“More sleep would definitely be ideal, zzt, but any sleep at this point izzz good.”

 

Bea smiled softly at Rotom, petting it, a peaceful smiley face appearing on it's screen momentarily.

 

They soon got comfortable, using Bubble’s tail as a pillow like they had before. The rest of their pokemon settled down near or on them as well, and they soon drifted off peacefully, embracing sleep.

 

   When Bea woke, it wasn't because of their alarm. They'd heard someone’s voice talking to them, though in sleep they couldn't process it properly. They heard the familiar protective noises of Mimi, and suddenly a gentle nudge to the side with what could only be assumed to be the person’s foot. With a tired groan, they cracked their eyes open, rubbing one of them with their good hand.

 

    It took a few moments for their fuzzy vision to become clear, so at first, they only saw a blonde, black, and red blob standing above them. Blinking a few times to clear their vision, it became clear that the figure was Gladion.

 

“Wh-huh?” They muttered, staring upwards at him. The surrounding area looked confusing, and at that moment, they had trouble registering exactly where they were as well. Through their still blurry sleep vision, they could've sworn there was some kind of blush on Gladion’s face, but just decided they were seeing things.

 

“Why are you here?” Gladion asked, sounding as blunt as ever.

 

_‘I should ask you the same thing,’_ ran through Bea’s head momentarily before they sat up, rubbing the rest of the sleep out of their eyes.

 

“Sleeping…? What does it look like?” They muttered, their tired voice sounding a lot less sarcastic than the words implied.

 

“I wouldn't think this was really the ideal place to sleep.”

 

“No shit,” Bea responded, yawning.

 

Gladion scoffed, “Hmph. But here of all places? Why?”

 

“Why are you suddenly asking me these questions man, I literally just woke up.” Bea said. “Why are _you_ here?”

 

Gladion looked away, “I-I saw your Sylveon run into the bushes outside of the entrance.”

 

Bea looked over to see Vivi sitting near the now awake Bubble. He trotted over and sat on their lap, giving as guilty of a smile a Sylveon could.

 

“So your next instinct was to go after him into the bushes why?” They asked as they pet the pokemon.

 

“You're asking a lot of questions now too.”

 

Bea rolled their eyes and let out a small laugh. Rotom suddenly popped up by their shoulder, giving a questioning buzz.

 

“I'm going to go now,” Gladion said, turning around.

 

“Wait,” Bea blurted out impulsively.

 

Gladion turned his head back, giving a questioning look.

 

“I'm… going to be free and probably bored like, all day, so um… if you wanna hang out later, come find me maybe?”

 

Gladion looked conflicted and shocked for a few moments before turning around again. He walked over the the entrance, seeming to have ignored them. Bea felt anxiety and regret boil inside them until they heard him speak up again.

 

“I'll see you later then.”

 

And with that, Gladion pushed through the leaves and exited the hideaway, leaving Bea alone once more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shorter than usual, i just wanted to finally get this chapter finished already so,

   After their rude awakening, Bea was quick to fall back asleep. They got another solid 40 minutes of sleep, nightmare free, and woke up to their alarm. 

 

Getting up to their dismay, they reached into their bag, grabbing their roll of bandages. Unravelling their injured hand revealed the bruises that still stained their skin. They didn't hurt as much anymore, but still provided a dull pang of pain when poked or prodded. A few bruises had faded away, but the ones remaining were hardly healed. 

 

Bea gently ran a finger over their bruised skin, before picking up the roll and wrapping the hand again. 

 

It hardly helped heal them, but it hid them.

 

Bea gently gathered all their pokemon into their pokeballs (save for Mimi, who hopped into their bag as per usual) and checked up on Rotom, before turning to the entrance and sighing.

 

“Time to head out.”

 

___

 

   By 5 pm, they were out of things to do. After a day mostly full of Mantine Surfing, they found themself on Route 8, sitting with their back against a berry tree, facing the ocean and evening sun. 

 

They pet Mimi, who sat leaned up against them. They had their eyes closed as they rested. Rotom was in sleep mode. It was quiet.

 

   “You seem relaxed.”

 

Bea jumped slightly, their head snapping to look to the source of the voice.

 

Gladion stood a couple feet away, a hand on his hip. 

 

“Gladion! Y-You scared me…”

 

They only received a “tch” in response. After a couple seconds of silence, they spoke again.

 

“Um, I feel a little tired today and I'm not really up for much more physical activity, so if you wanna hang out,” Bea scooted over a little, patting the ground beside them.

 

Gladion’s serious expression wavered before returning to normal, and he walked over, hesitantly sitting down. A few moments of silence passed before Gladion spoke.

 

“So, what are you doing?”

 

Bea tilted their head slightly, answering more as if they were asking a question instead of giving a response, “Sitting and looking at the ocean?”

 

“I know  _ that _ , I meant what is all of this about? You seem to be acting strange lately.”

 

“It's… nothing.” Bea responded, still a bit puzzled from his question, “Though that's a pretty strange statement coming from someone who says I'm not his friend.”

 

Gladion inhaled in shock, averting eye contact and crossing his arms. The two were silent for a few moments again, when Bea spoke up again.

 

“But… can we just not talk about what I've been up to? I wanna learn more about you, what you've been doing. We hardly talk at all and suddenly you actually accept my invitation to hang out? What's that about?”

 

“I have better things to do, you know.”

 

Slightly taken aback by his response, Bea backed down, their curious smile growing into an awkward frown. They looked down at their lap, messing with the ear on Mimi’s costume.

 

“Then… Why? Why hang out with me?” Bea muttered.

 

“Is it a crime to want to get to know someone better?”

 

Bea pressed their lips into a line, humming, “I guess not.”

 

“Then why ask such a ridiculous question?”

 

They let out a short laugh, “I dunno. Maybe we should change the topic.”

 

“That would be a good idea.”

 

Looking upwards in thought, they tried to think of something else to talk about. They smiled, looking over to Gladion, “How's Silvally?”

 

“It's doing well.”

 

“Cool! It's really nice. I feel like you're the perfect trainer for it.”

 

“A-Ah-” Gladion’s eyes widened, “Thank you.”

 

“I only speak the truth, no need for thanks.” Bea grinned.

 

Gladion’s frown twitched up into a smile. It felt as if the awkward tension from before had just melted away suddenly, and they felt comfortable together. 

  
  


   Before they knew it, Gladion was leaving. 

 

“Are you going to be going home?”

 

“N-Nah, I'm gonna stay out tonight. We should hang out again soon though!” Bea responded.

 

Gladion nodded. “I'll be going now then. See you.”

 

“Bye bye.” Bea said, waving with their good hand. They turned around once Gladion was far enough away, looking up to the moon. 

 

Another sleepless night.


End file.
